Parexel, a clinical research organization (CROs), appointed Anne Kasmar, senior vice president and global therapeutic area head infectious disease and vaccines. Kasmar brings more than 15 years of experience in clinical and translational research spanning academia, philanthropy, and biotech.

In her new role, Kasmar will lead an 11-member global team in the development of new treatments for infectious diseases.

Prior to joining Parexel, Kasmar was lead medical director at Genentech where she I oversaw a cross-functional team researching new therapies for graft-versus-host disease and contributed to the clinical development of novel antibiotics. Prior to joining Genentech, she was a program officer at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation where she built and managed a multi-million-dollar portfolio of investments in next-generation tuberculosis vaccines. Kasmar’s experience also includes serving as an instructor of medicine at Harvard Medical School as well as a clinical assistant in medicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital.

In a statement, Kasmar said that among her priorities over next six months include: getting to know her team; meet with key external partners; become fully fluent in both the current portfolio of the company’s work and the emerging pipeline; and maximize the impact of COVID-related momentum on progress for the field of infectious disease as a whole and on vaccines in particular.